Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 258 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 69.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,494.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $147.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,717.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,763.18.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,327.28.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.